iGaming and KYC in Peru
Rebekah Jackson
Unlike many of its Latin American neighbours, Peru has a long history of regulated gambling spanning over four decades. Land-based casinos were legalised back in 1979 and Peru has had online casinos in operation since 2008.
Gambling and sports betting in Peru
With a population of over 34 million, growing internet penetration and passionate gaming culture, iGaming operators from all over the world are racing to place their bets on Peru as the next big market opportunity.
In 2023, 89% of operators we surveyed in iGaming in Latin America had set their sights on expanding into Peru over the next five years.
Verify and protect players and your business
Gambling regulations in Peru
In August 2022, Peru’s Congreso de la República passed comprehensive iGaming and sports betting legislation.
The new rules were published by Peru’s regulator, the Ministerio de Comercio Exterior y Turismo (MINCETUR), in October 2023 and came into effect in February 2024. Peru became only the third country in South America to regulate and licence iGaming activity. To date, over 200 operators from around the world have applied for a license.
“With the right game plan in place at player onboarding, operators can comply with Peru’s iGaming regulations and protect against identity fraud.”
As the first linked identity verification service provider to be registered under MINCETUR’s new regulations, we at GBG have studied the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards and Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance requirements at player onboarding in Peru.
Player KYC requirements in Peru
Here are the KYC need-to-knows for iGaming operators getting ready to enter Peru’s regulated sports betting and online casino market. This concise list of due diligence captures the key KYC requirements. A player account can only be activated once all onboarding checks are complete and passed.
- Age verification (players must be over 18)
- Identity data verification (including identity card number)
- Identity proofing with document and biometrics (FaceMatch)
- Screening for PEPS and sanctions
End-to-end player KYC in Peru
With the right end-to-end KYC game plan in place, operators can comply with Peru’s iGaming regulations and protect against identity fraud.
For a winning player onboarding strategy, the same multi-layered approach to identity fraud protection and identity verification that gets results in mature iGaming markets is also sure to secure a win in Peru.
End-to-end player KYC in Peru
Complete MINCETUR player verification while protecting your business from identity fraud. Find out how our onboarding intelligence helps operators meet global gaming market regulations, protecting players and your business.
Protect against fraud and bonus abuse in Peru
Spotting scams and identity fraud right from the start is good practice in Peru. By adding simple fraud checks ahead of player identity verification, operators can protect against promotion abusers and other fraud.
For example, discrete background checks on an email address when a new player registers for your service offer a rich source of transactional and behavioural history – this email intelligence delivers simple but effective fraud protection.
“GBG Trust brings Tier 1 iGaming operators together across Peru, Latin America and worldwide to share identity intelligence insights securely.”
Our GBG Trust network brings Tier 1 iGaming operators together across Peru, Latin America and worldwide to share identity intelligence insights securely and take fraud protection at player onboarding to the next level.
iGaming Latin America market-by-market report on opportunities
While maintaining complete data privacy, GBG Trust detects suspicious identity data anomalies, patterns and high-velocity data submissions and reflects these in a low GBG Trust score.
In tests carried out on 100,000 customer identity records by one iGaming business, 88% of low-scoring identities were committing identity fraud or bonus abuse. By setting a GBG Trust threshold these identities are blocked before onboarding.
Data is the smart play in Peru
Fast, friction-free identity data verification is the smart play in Peru. A data-first KYC strategy can deliver excellent pass rates and an exceptional player experience and all at a lower cost, if further identity proof is not required.
“Our player identity checks in Peru match against credit reference agency data and can verify 99% of the population.”
Players must be 18 or older to participate in iGaming sites and services in Peru, so age and identity must both be securely verified. By matching the personally identifiable information (PII) a prospective player submits at online registration and testing it against reliable, official sources, we ensure it is real, verifiable data.
Here's our essential list of the player PII operators should elicit in Peru:
- Full name
- ID number (and identity document type)
- Date of birth
- Address
Our player identity checks in Peru match against credit reference agency data and can verify 99% of the population. This most reliable of data sources sets the standard for identity verification, KYC compliance and coverage.
What’s in a name?
The tradition of using both a paternal and maternal surname in Peru can create challenges for forms designed to collect a single surname in a single field. Some surnames consist of several words and many Peruvians also have two first names.
- Jorge Alvarez Fernández
- María Ramírez de la Piedad
- Miguel Angel Garcia Díaz
- José Antonio Castillo Reyes
- Ariana Herrera de la Cruz
To remove this complexity and enhance the matching process, we normalise the component parts of Peruvian name data to ensure accurate identity verification.
Prove player ID and FaceMatch in Peru
On the few occasions that further identity proofing is required, the Documento Nacional de Identidad (DNI) is the ubiquitous identity document recognised by the Peruvian state and MINCETUR player verification requirements for Peruvian nationals. There is also an identity card for resident non-nationals which completes the concise list of identity document types accepted for digital identity proofing:
- Documento Nacional de Identidad (DNI)
- Carné de Extranjería (CE)
Licenced iGaming operators in Peru must ensure their identity-proofing technology can deliver player document verification and face recognition.
Additional identity-proofing security features such as tamper detection and liveness testing are not required to complete KYC requirements in Peru but are advisable to spot the signs of counterfeits and protect against presentation attacks.
Screening players in Peru
To correctly comply with KYC requirements that support anti-money laundering standards, licenced operators in Peru are responsible for screening high-risk players. Screening identities for PEPs (politically exposed persons) and sanctioned individuals is essential customer due diligence.
Make sure screening for PEPs and sanctions is part of your player customer onboarding journey, ensuring your service minimises false positive results to avoid costly manual investigation checks and free up your compliance team.
Winning in Peru’s new iGaming market
As a fully regulated iGaming market gets going, many iGaming operators have chosen to place their bets on the Peruvian market. The race is on for licenced operators to learn the rules and develop a winning player onboarding strategy that meets the end-to-end KYC requirements of this big new player in the global market.
As the leading global expert in digital identity and go-to partner to 1000s of gaming operators in Latin America and around the world, our trusted technologies are ready to help verify and prove identity, protecting your business from identity fraud and bonus abuse with end-to-end player KYC in Peru.
Download our latest report on iGaming in Latin America.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is online gambling regulated in Peru?
Yes, the Peru iGaming market is fully regulated. The latest legislation was published by Peru’s regulator, the Ministerio de Comercio Exterior y Turismo (MINCETUR) in October 2023. It places international operators under the same conditions as national platforms. This latest legislation came into effect in February 2024.
How is online gambling regulated in Peru?
Peru’s online gambling market is regulated by the Ministerio de Comercio Exterior y Turismo, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism. MINCETUR authorises and monitors offline and online sports betting, iGaming and casinos. With a well-established gambling sector and as an early mover in iGaming regulation in Latin America, the Peru market is fully regulated.
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